September/October 2012Volume 51, No. 5

By nature, library technology walks a fine line between the new and exciting and the tried and true. This is particularly the case in public libraries, whose audience runs the gamut from Luddite to wizard. As we work to bring balance to these seemingly opposing forces, it’s always important to temper our gadget lust with […]

At a recent unconference at Piscataway (N.J.) Public Library (PPL), librarians from across the state came together to discuss issues and share ideas from their libraries. One issue we all have in common is the shifting ethnic makeup of New Jersey and the need for libraries to meet the changing requirements of their communities.

Adding keyword and number descriptors to book titles using the All My Books database improves the user-friendliness of library catalog searching, especially for books in a series. Widely used cataloging systems such as WorldCat work well in finding single titles, but ignore the idea of grouping series together in an easy-to-view format.

According to a 2010 Perceptions of Libraries study from OCLC, books remain the brand of the public library.1 Simply put, when people surveyed for the study think of the public library, they think book. The number is actually increasing. In 2010, 75 percent of Americans associated libraries with books, up from 69 percent in 2005.

In these days of diminished government funding of public libraries, alternate sources of income like benefit events represent a path to be considered. This is particularly true of Pennsylvania’s public libraries where government funding, largely discretionary as opposed to mandated, has been drastically cut over the last ten years.

OverDrive Announces Streaming Audiobooks OverDrive recently announced that it will update its popular audiobook download services to include new options for readers to instantly “See Book—Hear Book.” Scheduled for launch later this year, streaming audiobooks will be available on a wide range of Internet-connected devices, including smartphones, tablets, and computers. Streaming technology will eliminate long downloads. […]